As a managing editor, I'm now overseeing the Entrepreneurs channel--and excited about expanding our online forum with new voices and faces, new ideas, new products and services. I have spent most of my 14-plus years at Forbes on the print side, editing stories on education, immigration, Wall Street, investigative takedowns, corruption scandals abroad, corporate and billionaire profiles, up-and-coming startups. Now, at last, I’m stepping up to a digital challenge, and look forward to meeting and working with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors and a host of people who study and play an active role in driving the most dynamic engine of capitalism. Are you part of this upswell? Let me hear from you: tpost@forbes.com.

Apple Vs. Hero Worshippers

That may come as a shock to hedge funds, institutions and pension funds, as well as disappointed Apple investors, who have seen their beloved shares tank 35% since September. (Full disclosure: I own stock, too.) Apple enthusiasts, who recently believed the company could do no wrong, have now turned into a lynch mob that’s convinced the company is doomed.

Last week, a distinguished Silicon Valley guru and angel investor, sat in my office and told me that Tim Cook had been hired to execute a plan and could never be a leader. Today, there’s a swelling chorus calling for Cook’s head — and pleas for Apple to start innovating, instead of merely tinkering.

Image via CrunchBase

Innovate? Wonder if that’s occurred to folks in Cupertino.

Time for some deep Lamaze breathing, a little reflection on the virtues and insanity of hero worship and a lot less over-reaction.

We all know what a marketing meister Steve Jobs was — and that no one can ever take his place. Not even he could’ve held off the competitive onslaught in the mobile and tablet industries. Google and Samsung, to say nothing of up-and-coming Chinese companies, are great players that will give Apple a run for its memory, apps and user interface. The competition will also force Apple to make better products and explore new avenues. So, bring it on.

It’s human nature to seek role models and heroes. Since it’s tough to find them among the military (David Petraeus’ melodramatic rise and fall is only the latest example) and politicians (Hollywood has to stretch back to FDR and Lincoln to find them), it’s only natural we should invest entrepreneurs with mythical powers.

But in doing so, we delude ourselves, as well as do a disservice to high achievers. Even great entrepreneurs screw up; the best learn and move on. Just a month ago, who’d have thought Reid Hastings of Netflix could recover so quickly? How many folks bet on a comeback for Dell when its eponymous founder returned half a dozen years ago?

Like their companies, the most outstanding entrepreneurs constantly evolve — so, too, should our suppositions and assumptions about them. Bill Gates has transformed himself from a much-loathed software titan into a hugely admired force for global health care. Jeff Bezos may never deliver great profits for Amazon (to say nothing of avoiding server mishaps). But he’s building a company with a 100-year horizon.

Apple will never be the same without Jobs. That doesn’t mean it won’t continue to disrupt big pieces of the media business, as well as to make multiple adjustments to the vertiginous and ever-changing markets it’s already in.

Cults of personality are just fine for places like North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba. Maybe even for Russia. They don’t help much in the free market for goods, services and ideas.

And for the still-unconsoled: Ashton Kutcher’s biopic of Steve Jobs will be out sometime in April.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

Comments

This is what happens in a cult of Apple society. I think you most like had far too many drinking that Apple juice. Stock holders as well. I love it because Al Gore just bought a bunch more stock in Apple with his sale of Current TV. Bet he wished he made a different choice now.

Isn’t the crowdthink mentality interesting? We could all afford to do a little deep Lamaze breathing before we react. Like it or not, we’re all dragged along for the ride. Thanks for another great article, Tom.

I think that driver of results for apple was always perception and never technology. Even their ads do not feature tech specs but colors and turtle necks. For example, there is a perception that Macs are secure when in reality they are always first to fail in hacking competitions.